Our History

Our History

Cargilfield, founded in 1873, was the first prep school to be established in Scotland.

Cargilfield was founded in 1873 by the Reverend Charles Darnell, and is Scotland’s first and oldest prep school. Darnell’s aim was “to provide a liberal education and teach the merits of hard work and honesty under conditions of happiness and well-being”. This remains at the core of our ethos today.

The school moved from Trinity in Edinburgh to its current location in Barnton in 1898. A Pre Prep and Nursery Department were added to the prep school campus during the early 1980’s in response to the changing nature of the parental body and the introduction of girls.

Cargilfield is now the largest Prep School in Scotland with over 300 girls and boys, sending children to the best schools right across the United Kingdom.